QuoteReplyTopic: 2011 Wobbling side to side under accelaration Posted: 11†Feb†2018 at 2:42pm

Hi there, been a mechanical engineer for over 30 years, so like to think i know my way around a vehicle, particularly Nissan, however, I have a 2011 1.6 Petrol 2WD Qashqai here that has the most unfathomable wobble side to side at front when accelerating.....and only when accelerating, otherwise smooth as silk and no vibration when revved from a standstill, either with gearbox engaged .... or disengaged !

So far the local Nissan garage and myself have changed : ..... Bottom rear centre engine mount, gearbox mount, both set of discs and pads, N/S lower wishbone complete, laser tracking and alignment, Four New Tyres on undamaged Alloy 16"wheels, swapped them front to back and diagonally corner to corner as well ....... Still exactly the same ....accelerate and car physically moves from side to side at front, back off and its smooth again ......coast at 50 / 60 / 70mph ...smooth ! ....at wits end on this one....any "informed and sensible" ideas from anyone that has experienced same and ended up curing ?

84,000 miles ......Wheel bearings appear okay, no play, but I did wonder if any new ones had been put in slightly off true? drive shafts very hard to check, could just replace both ....but where do you stop ! ....appreciate it's very hard with problems like this, its been in Main Agent's, and to be honest they just adopt the " keep bolting bits on until we find it " attitude.....and guess what ....they still don't know either, even though supposed experts !

Exactly the same happening in my 08 2.0 Tekna. Changed clutch and flywheel and the crank pulley as that had play in it. All wheels tyres and brakes checked and tracking all good. Mechanic is completely stumped. Going to try the driveshafts next unless someone has a better idea?

Sounds like you're at my stage Mitch, albeit with a new clutch and flywheel, I keep thinking could it be the flywheel or clutch? ..... but it's definitely a wobble or swaying side to side, not a juddering, I may be very wrong but it just "feels" as if something is out of balance, then again it does not do it all the time, only under acceleration, harder the acceleration....the more the front wobbles from side to side, as you say, stumped so far ? .....please update if you find it and vice versa.

Still can't get to bottom of this wobbling side to side under acceleration, it's a genuinely lovely, never towed, never been in an accident 2011 model in black in prime condition, and with a Full Nissan History, but running out of things to try ! ......anyone, anywhere, come across this ????????

Cars been in the garage all day today. Mechanic has been through everything. Only thing he found was the rear front sub-frame bushes had excessive play in them. Having them done next week but we are still only guessing. Surely somebody out there has had this issue and managed to cure it??

Hi again Mitch, my thoughts exactly, If you look on the net there are numerous posts regarding front shimmering / wobbling / side to side problem on many makes of car ....however, looking at their conclusions leads me no further as most are balancing, tyres, axle, drive shaft related.....As a motor engineer of 30+ years i'm embarrassed to not be able to find it ! ....So far it's had : all new discs and brake pads, four wheel laser tracking and digital balancing, alloys swapped corner to corner, and front to rear, large engine / gearbox mount at rear, lower wishbones complete, there is no play whatsoever in the driveshafts but this does not necessarily mean they are in balance and okay, and this is probably my next step. Until you mentioned you had replaced your flywheel, clutch, and crankshaft bearing i was thinking is it that? but then again flywheel connected to crank, so vibration / shimmy would be there at all speeds i would have thought, not just under acceleration ? also .... once you get to around 60 /65mph you can accelerate hard and it's as smooth as silk.....but at take off, low speeds, or putting you foot down at say 30 or 40 etc it wobbles and shimmies like a good un ! and you can see the car and yourself shaking from side to side .....driving us nuts !!!!! good luck with yours, keep me informed......

Appreciate it G5 Boy, but yes, had all four wheels off whilst up on post lift, and we put the rears on front, front on rears, diagonally corner to corner, and balanced them all spot on.....exactly the same !

Camber, Caster etc: and Chassis straight ? ....would have thought so, but to check that at length is a step too far even for me, if it comes down to it I will chuck it in the auction and lose hundreds and hundreds of pounds but be out of the piece of ....

Wondering if sub frame mounts or bolts gone? cannot physically see or feel any movement but have been made aware this was a fault with a Main Agent directive outlining as such a few years back ....anybody had a side to side wobble corrected by new mounts ?

So today ....... just to rule finally rule out the tyres and Alloy's were not actually out of balance or bent, I borrowed another space saver spare wheel and put them both on the front, one at a time each side, and then both, and guess what ? It didn't cure it ...BUT .... it made it considerably better ! ......... work that out ?

Could you elaborate on your symptoms please / O/S/front (Drivers) is the only driveshaft we haven't changed as nine out of ten times it's always the N/Side ....however, willing ti try anything now, ours only does it on acceleration, shimmy side to side, no clunks, vibrations through steering wheel, pedal etc.....but when you put your foot down it physically moves from side to side...... oas I say, over 60/65mph it disappears ?

About to fit more driveshafts after having been sent three more incorrect ones ! ......different bearing brackets, mount holes not lining up, shaft just a tiny bit too long ......really Nissan, how many driveshaft variations do you need for these later 2011 on Qashqai's ??? never had this with first J10's from 2007 to 2010....these facelift models are a nightmare.

Well would you believe it ? after all i have written about parts fitted, changed, bought, both by the previous customer and myself, it turns out the only part not changed by us, ( because customer clearly pointed out nice new shiny reconditioned driveshaft as fitted by previous garage, and the receipt to prove) was faulty !!!! that's right, that part i had looked at for 5 months and thought "well that's been changed for new, won't be that" was in fact duff out of the box all along !!!!! in fairness who could have know? including the previous garage, the customer, and us ? .....I only found out myself because it was the only part "I myself" had not changed or fitted in the end, bought another out of sheer desperation and false hope, and BOOM ! ....it cured it immediately ....OMG the phantom duff "New Part" strikes again ........years since that has happened, but happen it did.

So there you go, it's cured, would have been over six months ago if that part had worked as it should straight out of the box, but life can do that to you sometimes huh ?

Thanks for all the suggestions, all of them relevant in one way or another, but sheer perseverance and refusal to be beaten won out in the end, was it worth it ? well I won't make anything on it all this time later, but i won't be staring the barrel of a huge loss either.

Good luck to all ..... the symptoms of my wobble are on here in detail, along with what we did to try and rectif, in the end it "was" the driveshaft all along, pretty obvious you say? but not when it's a shiny New part already fitted that just happen's to be faulty it itself, but hiding in plain sight as they say ! ... So, same fault with yours ? ....change one or more D/Shafts and you may just save yourself the frustration i have been experiencing these past 5 months or more, not to say a n awful lot of money. Good luck.

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